Spiritual Servanthood
Text: I Cor.7: 22-23; Deut.15: 17
Intro: Few, if any modern-day Americans, have experiential knowledge of what it means to be a slave—the servant of another, who has total control over one’s person. That’s one of the blessings of American society and culture. We may expect good service at the local restaurant; but we know that that service has certain limits. The restaurant’s employees aren’t expected to submit to the customers’ every whim and command. That’s because they are servers, not servants.
In Bible times, a servant was a person who was totally committed to doing the bidding of his or her master. It was a commitment of their life, not merely their labor. Their only mission was to please their master, no matter how difficult or laborious the task assigned to them. For that reason, the life of a servant could be very hard.
The words of First Corinthians 7: 22 and 23 are somewhat of a paradox. In essence, Paul said that a slave who trusts Christ is made free. On the other hand, a free man who trusts Christ as Savior is the slave of Christ. The paradox is understood by realizing that salvation means being set free from one’s sin and the bondage of the old life, and yet, out of gratitude for what Christ has done for us, we are to be totally committed to pleasing Him in love. Please understand that Christ does not view or treat His children like slaves. But we should be so totally committed to pleasing Him, that our service to Christ might appear to be that of a bondservant.
Our second passage of scripture speaks of a Hebrew, who for one reason or another, was forced to sell himself or herself to another Hebrew as an indentured servant. The Law set their term of service at six years. After that, they were to go free. However, occasionally, one who entered into service out of duty would choose to remain in service the rest of their life, due to devotion. It is this rare occasion that we want to look at today and draw from it some principles about our service to Christ.
Theme: Spiritual servanthood, like that of the Old Testament, is:
I. A PERSONAL DECISION
A. We Could Serve Out Of Duty.
1. This was how the Hebrew servant began his service.
Deut.15: 12 “And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.”
NOTE: [1] Another Hebrew never forced a fellow Hebrew into servanthood. It was a personal decision on the part of a Hebrew who could pay off his or her debt no other way. When a poor Israelite entered into such an arrangement with one of his wealthy countrymen, it was for no longer than six years, and treatment of an indentured servant was usually good.
[2] Though this service was by agreement, and the treatment was good, the poor Hebrew was a servant nonetheless. Let me explain.
“’Servant’ in our English New Testament usually represents the Greek doulos (bondslave). Sometimes it means diakonos (deacon or minister); this is strictly accurate, for doulos and diakonos are synonyms. Both words denote a man who is not at his own disposal, but is his master’s purchased property. Bought to serve his master’s needs, to be at his beck and call every moment, the slave’s sole business is to do as he is told. Christian service therefore means, first and foremost, living out a slave relationship to one’s Savior (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20).
James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986.
2. God doesn’t desire merely dutiful service from His saints.
a. Our worship should not be out of mere duty.
Ps.100: 2a “Serve the Lord with gladness…”
b. Our giving should not be out of mere duty.
II Cor.9: 7 “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
c. Our ministry should not be out of mere duty.
I Pet.5: 2 “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;”
B. We Should Serve God Out Of Devotion.
John 15: 15 “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”
NOTE: Jesus saved us to set us free, for He said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8: 36). However, our gratitude to Christ for what He’s done for us should result in willing, faithful and loving servitude. It should be service because we want to, not because we have to.
1. Like that rare servant of old, we should serve God out of liberty, not legalism.
Deut.15: 12b “…then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
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16 And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I will not go away from thee; because he loveth thee and thine house, because he is well with thee;”
NOTE: [1] This servant’s obligation was over after six years. However, if he chose to stay with his master after that time, he would not be serving because he was obligated, but because he was obliged to do so. In other words, this servant had become so devoted to his former master, and had grown to love he and his family so much that lifetime commitment to them was preferable to freedom.
[2] Adoniram Judson once made a rather dynamic statement about this type of service. He said, “The motto of every missionary, whether preacher, printer, or schoolmaster, ought to be ‘Devoted for life’” (Adoniram Judson in To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson).
2. God wants our service to Him to be out of divine love.
John 14: 15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
Deut.6: 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
Deut.11: 1 “Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, always.”
II. A PAINFUL DECISION
Deut.15: 17a “Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door…”
NOTE: [1] An “awl” is a sharp-pointed tool used to punch holes in wood or leather.
[2] It is significant that this ceremony was performed on the servant’s ear, “the organ of hearing and obedience” (Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison, Editors, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 70). Keep in mind all of this was done voluntarily by the servant.
A. Commitment To Serve Christ Will Be Painful To The Flesh.
1. Spiritual service to Christ means death to the desires of the flesh.
Col.3: 2 “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
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5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:”
2. Spiritual service to Christ means that He is our life’s focus.
Matt.6: 24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
I Cor.4: 2 “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
3. Spiritual service to Christ means that He is first.
I Cor.6: 19 “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
B. Commitment To Serve Christ May Be Painful To One’s Friendships.
Luke 6: 22 “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.”
John 15: 19 “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”
C. Commitment To Serve Christ May Be Painful To One’s Fortune.
Mark 10: 28 “Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”
III. A PERMANENT DECISION
Deut.15: 17b “…and he shall be thy servant forever…”
A. Commitment To Serve Christ Leaves Its Indelible Mark.
Deut.15: 17a “Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door…”
NOTE: Once the servant received the mark of commitment in his or her ear, it was irreversible. Just as our salvation by faith in Christ is not reversible, neither is our responsibility to serve Him. We may not live up to our responsibility, but serving Christ with our life is our responsibility nonetheless.
1. It will leave the mark of our Master’s approval.
John 12: 26 “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.”
2. It will leave the mark of Christ-like attributes.
Acts 4: 13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”
B. Commitment to Serve Christ Leaves Us With One Important Mission.
Eccl.12: 13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”
I Cor.10: 31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
Theme: Spiritual servanthood, like that of the Old Testament, is:
I. A PERSONAL DECISION
II. A PAINFUL DECISION
III. A PERMANENT DECISION
